


Different Way of Caring

by finite



Series: finite's love collection [4]
Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, always angst, bandfic kinda thing, gross emotions, idolverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-16 11:59:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4624539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finite/pseuds/finite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hoya is forced to deal with an emotional Woohyun because Sunggyu screwed up. Also, this is how Sunggyu punishes Hoya for being too hard on himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Different Way of Caring

**Author's Note:**

> This is a repost actually. I made some minor corrections. And oh, this was written around Toheart-Back promotion just so you know for the time frame in this.

\--

Hoya feels his ankle screaming in a masked pain, the painkiller that he’s taken seems to fade away slowly. He is sweating profusely and by the time they practice the same choreography for the thirtieth time of the day, the sweats on his body are already drying on their own.

"Let's call it a day, Hoya," Dongwoo suggests, his stomach groaning in protest, begging to be filled.

"We should practice that one move..." Hoya doesn't get to finish as Sunggyu walks into the practice room and interrupts.

"I'm taking you guys to dinner. You have," Sunggyu says, glancing at his wristwatch, "about 5 minutes to shower or I'm leaving without you."

Dongwoo makes this funny (yet cute) dance and is already running to the door to make his escape to the changing room, leaving Sunggyu and Hoya in an awkward silence.

"You should shower, you stinky ass," Sunggyu says in fake humour.

Sunggyu is not in a good mood, Hoya can tell, because he can see the scary glint in his eyes that lets Hoya know there’s no way in hell that he can skip this dinner to practice instead.

"Make it 10. I really need that shower," Hoya says. Sunggyu smiles (a bit forcefully) and says nothing back.

\--

Dongwoo is currently sleeping with his head on his lap and he's probably drooling on his pants, but Hoya couldn't care less. He stares at the back of Sunggyu's head, the leader's silence somehow bothers him. He was strangely quiet during dinner too.

"Is there something wrong?" Hoya gathers the courage to ask.

Sunggyu doesn't say anything and the car continues to bathe in silence. Until Sunggyu finally opens his mouth to speak.

"You know, with that kind of attitude at training today, you'll probably end up not being able to use your leg for good," Sunggyu says quietly, completely calm.

Hoya stiffens at the unvoiced scolding he's receiving. With Sunggyu, it's always like this. If he's there when someone messes up, he will directly tell them off on the spot. But like today, when he wasn't there to see how hard Hoya was pushing himself, he will act like this, which is even scarier because a quiet and calm Sunggyu is an unpredictable Sunggyu. Honestly, Hoya doesn't know what to expect.

He is about to say something, apologize or do anything when Sunggyu cuts him off.

"Don't apologize. I don't want to hear it. Dongwoo and I will be sleeping in the old dorm. We'll give you some space to reflect. Remember what I said," Sunggyu says coolly, but Hoya knows that he’s far from that.

They arrive and Sunggyu opens the back door before roughly shaking Dongwoo awake. Then, he is half-carrying the sleepy rapper up to their dorm, leaving Hoya with his thoughts.

"Don't take Sunggyu's words to heart. He's been worrying all day especially since Woohyun got hurt again at the filming today," Seonho tells him.

Hoya's eyes widens at the new information.

"What? How is he? Is it bad?" Hoya asks worriedly.

Woohyun's health has probably been on everyone's top watch-list since the company announced that he's going to debut with Toheart just before their full-length album comeback.

"It's not that serious. His bad shoulder was strained again. It'll probably never heal properly especially since there’s no time to let it rest and recover. Filming the drama opens up more chance for him to get repetitive injury on the same shoulder," Seonho explains, sighing.

"Where is he? Has anyone talked to him?" Hoya asks.

He (everyone) knows that Woohyun shouldn't be left alone with his thoughts, they can be pretty nasty judging from the man's tendency to be so hard on himself (in a way that is similar to Hoya). Even though they are basically all adults now, Infinite members, especially the more sensitive ones like Woohyun and Sungyeol, always need to be some reassurance and comforting.

"Sunggyu talked to him. But you saw him tonight, right?"

"They fought again?" Hoya guesses. Seonho nods in confirmation.

It isn't hard to guess that Sunggyu's foul mood is actually caused by his fight with Woohyun. It happens a lot and the members are already so used to it.

"It's late. You shouldn't worry too much. Woohyun is fine and those two know how to patch things up. They had it worse before. Today is nothing. Go up and get some sleep."

Hoya prays that it's true.

"Good night, hyung."

\--

Hoya almost gets a hard attack when he finds Woohyun lying with his face down on the long sofa in his dorm. He hurriedly walks to the main vocalist and pulls him back. He hears Woohyun hiss under his breath. Hoya mumbles an apology for accidentally touching his bad shoulder.

"Were you trying to suffocate yourself?" Hoya asks in a frustrated tone, choosing to sit next to Woohyun who pulls himself into a sitting position.

Now that he really looks at Woohyun, he notices that his eyes are red (either fromlack of sleep or crying earlier; Hoya has a feeling that it's a combination of the two).

"Are you sleeping here tonight?" Hoya asks.

Woohyun doesn't answer and he takes that as a yes.

"Gyu hyung asked you to reflect as well?"

This time, the slightly older man nods softly. Woohyun rests his chin on his knees, his thin arms hugging them close to his chest.

"What did he say?" Hoya asks.

Usually he isn't the type to ask so many questions, but he simply can't let Woohyun go to sleep with thousands of negative thoughts running through his head. Hoya knows that he’s now responsible to take at least half of it off Woohyun's mind.

Then, he suddenly realizes something.

_'Kim Sunggyu, you smart ass.'_

This is not about Sunggyu punishing him. True, Sunggyu is slightly mad at him for trying too hard, but Sunggyu himself knows Hoya too well, he knows that Hoya wouldn't be so stupid to get himself injured again.

Unlike the person who’s currently in a cold war with Sunggyu.

Sunggyu has planned it. Everything. From the dinner to the small talk in the car. He’s just finding a way to get to Woohyun, to ease the burden that he’s carrying. Then Hoya thinks, Sunggyu must have really screwed up because Woohyun usually doesn't need that much persuading and comforting. He must have said something really hurtful or else the main vocalist in front of him won't look that miserable, as if he is guilty of the world’s most cruel crime. This is probably Sunggyu's way of subtly asking (forcing) Hoya to help him fix the mess that he made. Hoya finds himself sighing before scooting closer to Woohyun.

"What did he say this time?"

Woohyun shakes his head and hastily wipes a tear that has slipped from his eye.

"You know it's never your fault that you got hurt, Woohyun," Hoya says, ditching all the formality.

_'Ah Kim Sunggyu, you should have picked Dongwoo. I don't know how to handle an emotional Woohyun. That's Dongwoo's and your job.'_

"Woohyun..." The more Hoya scoots over, the more Woohyun backs away, putting a clear distance between them.

Woohyun doesn't want to be comforted. _Wow, that's new._ Hoya wonders what kind of shit that Sunggyu spewed this time to make Woohyun react like this.

 

"He told me..." Woohyun starts, then his face scrunches up into the most painful expression Hoya has ever seen, "that I am a selfish prick who doesn't think or care about this group."

Hoya almost snap after hearing the exact words that Sunggyu has said to Woohyun. Everyone (especially Sunggyu) knows that is definitely not true. The title of the most self-sacrificial member will always belong to Woohyun. Knowing Woohyun, he remembers people's remarks said to him, word by word, taking it to his heart. And this time, it isn't any different.

"And?" Hoya presses, feeling that there is more.

"He said that if I'm too selfish to think about Infinite then I can get lost and become an actor instead. H-He told me to l-leave, Howon. H-How? What do I do? I m-messed up...again."

The way Woohyun is holding back himself from crying is probably way worse than if he cries instead. Hoya is at lost. Comforting people (much less Woohyun) is not his special talent at all. If anything, he's terrible at it. And to make it worse, Hoya is also awkward with his words.

_Man, Sunggyu_ _hyung_ _definitely picked the wrong member to handle a distressed (and extremely hurt) Woohyun._

So, Hoya does what he does best. He stays quiet and waits. He waits until Woohyun stops holding himself back from crying. He waits until Woohyun doesn't feel like crying anymore. He waits until Woohyun’s eyes become tired and red and droopy, desperately needing a proper sleep.

"Should I...should I quit the drama, Howon-ah?"

Woohyun sounds so small and vulnerable that it makes Hoya want to smash things and imagine them as Kim Sunggyu.

"Don't be ridiculous, Woohyun."

This time Hoya comes closer for real and puts his arm around Woohyun's shoulder. He feels the main vocalist tense a little before finally relaxing as he leans against Hoya's body. It feels awkward. Hoya’s definitely not used to people invading his personal space (though his members, especially Dongwoo, do it all the time). But this time, it's different because he is the first one to initiate the move, the one who invites and welcomes Woohyun into his intimate space.

"What should I do, Howon?" Woohyun asks again.

Hoya opens his mouth, contemplating what is the right thing to say at this crucial moment. This is not just about Woohyun. This is about Infinite. If he says the wrong thing, Woohyun can possible take his earlier question for real and leave the group. His mother's words play in his mind, 'Do not play with someone's vulnerable state. It'll always end with regrets.'

"What you should do now is sleep. I'll make sure Sunggyu apologises to you first thing in the morning," Hoya finally says, almost proud of himself. It feels like the right thing to say.

"It's hyung. And he doesn't need to apologise. He does nothing wrong. He's..."

Now it sounds like Woohyun. Sunggyu is probably the only member who fusses over the members dropping the formality with him and Woohyun only cares if it's Sunggyu the one that the younger members address inappropriately.

"He's wrong and he needs to apologise. You're the one who said to me that being injured is not our fault. Don't take the words back, you know it's true," Hoya hisses. His frustration is showing and he’s doing a bad job at trying to conceal it.

Woohyun whines at the truth in Hoya's statement and it reminds Hoya of the Jindo puppies that they raised two years ago. Both of them are obviously tired and Hoya mentally curses Sunggyu for making him the one to fix his mess. But then again, it’s Woohyun and Hoya cares about him (probably more than he’ll ever admit).

"Come on, Woohyun hyung," Hoya says, standing up and pulling Woohyun with him.

There is little strength in Woohyun's body as Hoya pulls him easily to one of the bedrooms. Woohyun hesitates when they are standing in front of Sunggyu's room.

"What?"

"It's Sunggyu hyung's room," Woohyun says quietly.

"Come on. He kicked you out from _your_ dorm and the least that he can do now is be accommodating. Plus, I don't think he cares since you guys used to be room mates before. Now come. I'm tired and I need to sleep, but I can't do that if I know that you're going to stay awake and beat yourself about what happened today," Hoya says, giving the older man a pointed look.

Woohyun reluctantly steps into the room, feeling very awkward to be in Sunggyu's private living space after almost two years of sleeping apart. Hoya notes his lost expression and lightly pushes Woohyun towards the bed, being extra careful not to touch his bad shoulder. Now that Hoya notices the arm sling around his neck, he feels stupid for not realising it earlier.

Once Woohyun’s already lying on the bed, Hoya shuffles outside to retrieve something from his training bag. Then he walks back to the leader's room.

"Take this. It'll ease the pain and help you to sleep," Hoya says, shoving the painkiller into Woohyun's hand before grabbing the water bottle on the night stand. He puts up a finger when he sees that Woohyun is about to protest.

"I know that you don't usually take painkillers no matter how painful your injuries are, but please take this one. You have another filming tomorrow afternoon and you need to sleep off the pain. Trust me," Hoya says.

He feels like a mother. Now he understands his mother's feeling whenever her kids don’t want to take their medicines.

"Fine." Woohyun begrudgingly swallows the pill and drinks the water to wash the bitter aftertaste in his mouth.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" Woohyun asks, seeing that Hoya is currently sitting on the floor, checking his phone for any message or notification.

"I will, but not before you sleep, Woohyun hyung."

Woohyun whines again and Hoya has the urge to smack the older man so that he can fall asleep immediately.

"You don't have to wait. Just go to bed, Howon."

"No and you sleep. Now."

Hoya resumes checking his phone and is busy replying to his messages when he feels Woohyun reaching out for his hand.

"What are you doing?" Hoya asks, feeling alarmed at the sudden affectionate move.

He knows that the main vocalist is somehow quite touchy, but Hoya really needs to remind him sometimes that he is not Dongwoo. Woohyun's hand on his tightens and with an earnest expression, he thanks Hoya. There goes all his instinct to pull away.

"It's okay. You'll do it for me too," Hoya says, the realisation makes him tear up a little.

"No, I mean, yes thank you for everything, but most importantly, thank you for the...um, hug."

Hoya laughs awkwardly. He didn't even mean to hug Woohyun earlier, but yeah, it's Woohyun and he's sad and all, Hoya feels like a bad person if he does nothing.

"Sleep, Woohyun hyung."

"You know, you don't have to call me hyung. You know I don't really mind it. Even Sungjong sometimes drops the hyung," Woohyun says, his voice growing deeper showing how tired he really is.

"I know and now sleep, _Nam Woohyun_."

Hoya switches off the light and lets them sit in the darkness. Five minutes later, he can hear Woohyun's soft breathing over the silence. He pulls the cover over Woohyun and leaves the room, his bed already waiting for him.

_'The things that I do for my members.'_

Hoya chuckles to himself and shakes his head.

He knows that he finds them annoying most of the time, but in the end, he will always end up caring and worrying over them.

\--

The next morning, Sunggyu apologises to Woohyun and Dongwoo hugs him. And Hoya finds a 'thank you' message with a heart and little trees in his inbox. He smiles and decides to take it easy today.

\--

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this! Leave a kudo if you like it (even guests can leave kudo *puppy eyes*) and of course leave a comment bc i love comments :) Thanks for reading.


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